


Hold On With Me

by bigficenergy



Series: As Seen on Tumblr [17]
Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:14:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24688981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigficenergy/pseuds/bigficenergy
Summary: David processes being the last Rose left in Schitt's Creek.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Series: As Seen on Tumblr [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1509461
Comments: 20
Kudos: 182





	Hold On With Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kelbelle3](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kelbelle3/gifts).



> Thank you for this prompt (which was a "just really needed a hug" sort of hug), which led to another very emotional fic for me to write. Honestly, what did I expect with these prompts? 😭
> 
> Once again, these are prompt fills for this [soft fic prompt meme](https://fraudulentzodiac.tumblr.com/post/619125619625738240). I'm moving them to AO3 slower than I'm filling them, so you can catch them [on Tumblr](https://fraudulentzodiac.tumblr.com/tagged/soft-prompt-fills) first. They'll go up here in batches of three on weekends. :)
> 
> The title wasn't an incredibly original way to go, but I can't help that Noah Reid wrote a perfect song. 🤷♂️

David is quiet on the drive back home after taking Alexis to the airport. He’d been very steady during the farewells, tearing up but smiling, hugging Alexis tightly and telling her she was going to do great in New York. Now, in the passenger seat, he doesn’t do any of the things Patrick is accustomed to when they’re in the car together, like shuffle through his music until he finds something he’s really feeling, or suggest pit stops for snacks, or comment on what a miracle it is that Patrick’s clunker of a car got them where they needed to be. Today, he stares out of his window and says nothing.

Patrick doesn’t want to push, but he wants to be there for him, so he places his right hand gently on David’s knee. To his surprise, David immediately covers it with his left hand, then laces their fingers together and holds tight, all without looking away from the window.

“Do you want to stop at that bakery in Elm Valley?” Patrick asks. “We might also be able to catch the end of the farmer’s market.”

“Um…” David starts, turning back toward Patrick a little, but still not looking at him. “Do you mind if we just go straight home?”

“Of course not,” Patrick says, squeezing David’s hand. “We’ll go straight home.”

“Home” is still Patrick’s apartment for a little while longer. They don’t move into the new house for another week, and with all his family gone, the only time David spends at the motel is when he’s packing or visiting Stevie. David goes back to silently staring out the window keeping hold of Patrick’s hand for the rest of the ride. When they get back into Schitt’s Creek and drive past their soon-to-be home, David squeezes his hand. Patrick keeps his eyes on the road, but smiles.

When they get back to the apartment, David walks in ahead of him. Patrick closes the door, and takes a few steps toward David, who has stopped near the sofa, shaking out his hands like he does sometimes when he’s overwhelmed.

“Is there anything I can do?” Patrick asks. “Or do you want some space? We need some groceries, I could go out for a bit and-”

“No no no no no no,” David says quickly, covering his face with his hands. “Don’t go, I just…”

“Okay,” Patrick says softly, stepping a little closer. “I won’t go. I’m here.”

David slides his hands down so he’s just covering his mouth, then drops his hands entirely.

“We made the right choice.” His voice wavers, but it’s not a question, it’s a statement. “I know we made the right choice staying. I have so much here. We do. I just… when we first came here, I thought my problem was that I was lonely. But the truth is, I had been lonely for a very long time before that. I just didn’t have the means to pretend I wasn’t anymore. And then to have Alexis and my parents there all the time… I mean sure, it was annoying and there was no privacy, but… the whole situation was okay when it was all of us here together.”

He pauses to take a breath, fiddling with one of his wide, gold engagement rings.

“I told you how I reacted when I thought I was gonna be on my own again back then. And I know this is different. I know I’m not on my own. But you know, my family… we tend to take up _a lot_ of space.”

Patrick can’t help but laugh at that.

“And now that Alexis is gone, now that they’ve all left, the space they took up feels so empty,” David continues. “And it’s scaring me a little. And… I… can you just… god I hate this, can you just hug me?”

Patrick springs into action, closing the space between them and wrapping his arms tightly around his husband. David winds his arms around him too, over his shoulders, pulling him in tight. Patrick’s mouth his pressed a little too firmly into David’s shoulder, but he wouldn’t dream of letting go. He does eventually tip his head back so he can rest his chin on David’s shoulder instead of against it, allowing him to speak.

“I know I can’t fill those spaces for you,” Patrick says. “To be fair, no one can fill the space your mom inhabits.”

That gets a sniffling laugh out of David. “God, no.”

“But I’m gonna be here with you, and I promise soon, those spaces won’t feel so empty. Your family left a mark on this town, and you get to carry that on. The reminders of them will always be around, but I think eventually, it’ll feel like a good thing. And when it doesn’t, I’ll be here, just like this.”

Another huff of laughter escapes David. “Well my god, when you put it that way, how could I ever stay upset?”

“You _can_ be upset though,” Patrick says, rubbing his back. “I think things are gonna be really good, but change is always hard. That’s how I felt when I thought we’d be going to New York. I was scared, but I knew we’d make it work.”

David’s hold on him becomes impossibly tighter, to the point where Patrick thinks he might actually have to break the hug or suffocate, but then David is letting go, taking his face in his hands and kissing him soundly. When he pulls back, he wipes away some of his own tears from Patrick’s cheek.

“Thank you,” he says. “But you might have to give me this talk a few more times.”

“Happy to,” Patrick says, leaning up for another, softer kiss. When he pulls back, David lets go of him, wiping his face and heaving a big sigh.

“Now I wish we had stopped at the bakery,” he says. “Could really go for a chocolate croissant or three.”

“Well, I know it’s not the finest patisserie in the land, but I could always go see what the Cafe has left in the pastry case.”

David fidgets with his rings some more, then says quietly, “You wouldn’t mind?”

“Not at all. Will you be okay here?”

David nods. “As long as you’re quick, and you come back with something good.”

“I can only really promise one of those things,” Patrick says, turning back toward the door. “And depending on how chatty Twyla is about her new business ownership, I may not be able to promise either, actually.”

“I trust you’ll do your best.”

Patrick grins at him from the doorway. “Hey. I love you.”

“I love you too,” David says, smiling with ease for the first time all day.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! ❤️ Who else could really use a hug now? 😅
> 
> Closed to prompts, open to hellos on [Tumblr](https://fraudulentzodiac.tumblr.com/). 👋


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